Internship - Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI) External Post level Apply by Nov-5-24 Age[...]

Internship - Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI) Location :

Geneva, SWITZERLAND

Type of Contract :

Internship

Starting Date :

06-Dec-2024

Application Deadline :

05-Nov-24 (Midnight New York, USA)

Duration of Initial Contract :

6 months

Languages Required :

Fluency in written and spoken English and French is required.

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

The Central African region is home to the second largest tropical rainforest in the world, is sucking out about 1.5 billion tons of CO2 of the atmosphere or 4% of the world’s emissions every year and provides a habitat to more than 10,000 plant and animal species. Forest loss is accelerating despite ongoing efforts, as government action alone has not been enough to establish an effective balance between the interests of the forest and of economic development. On this basis, a coalition of donors -which now includes Belgium, the European Union, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Sweden, the UK and the US -together with Central African partner countries -Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of Congo -have decided to enter into a collaborative partnership to establish the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI).

CAFI’s objective is to recognize and preserve the value of the forests in the region to mitigate climate change, reduce poverty, and contribute to sustainable development. This objective will be attained through the implementation of country-led, national scale REDD+ and Low Emissions Development (LED) investment frameworks that include policy reforms and measures to address the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation and promote sustainable development. The CAFI Trust Fund is the principal means to implement the Central African Forest Initiative. It is administered by the MPTF-O, that also provides the Secretariat services.

To reverse this trend and increase the prospects for the long-term conservation of forests in Central Africa we must use the alternatives to current practices (slash-and-burn agriculture, unsustainable charcoal). These have been successfully adopted by farmers in the context of CAFI projects since 2015 and they include agroforestry, development of deforestation-free crops, forest plantation and regeneration following sustainable land use planning. These projects have shown that if we provide direct incentives at scale, people can engage in an alternative development pathway that will spare forests.

CAFI’s payment for environmental services programme (PES) is a standardized mechanism to deliver direct performance-based payments in Central Africa: it creates common rules, eligibility requirements, quality criteria, monitoring, transparent reporting and verification procedures as well as digital payment solutions for a set of activities.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Intern will work closely under the supervision of the Technical Advisor for programming, who will serve as main project focal point and coordinate the approval of final deliverables within the CAFI Secretariat. The intern will undertake the assignments outlined below:

Support the operationalization of web-based remote sensing services for PES (20%):

• Analyse the proposed architecture for web-based remote sensing services for PES and identify the technological options available;
• Gather lessons learned from the early implementation of web-based remote sensing services for PES;
• Provide recommendation for technological improvement of the web-based remote sensing services for PES.

Support the seamless integration of sub-system for optimal functioning of the PES information management system (20%):

• Analyse the proposed architecture and identify potential issues and the potential technological solutions;
• Gather lessons learned from the early implementation of the overall system;
• Provide recommendation seamless integration of sub-system for optimal functioning of the PES information management system.

Support the design and operationalization of automated data analysis functions to support real time monitoring of the PES programme implementation (30%):

• Identify the potential to integrate automated data analysis functions in the system and the technological solutions required;
• Provide recommendation for automated data analysis functions to be integrated in the PES information management system.

Support the design and operationalization of the CAFI PES Modelling Tool (30%):

• Compile existing quantitative and qualitative data (land cover, above and below ground biomass and their increment, biodiversity, agricultural yield, etc.) necessary to analyse the PES potential of Congo Basin countries;
• Conduct analyses to estimate current and forecast future land use dynamics associated to food, timber and charcoal production in the Congo Basin;
• Explore options and provide recommendation about the best technological solutions to transform the PES modelling tool into an online and interactive tool.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Applicants must at the time of application, meet one of the following requirements:
• Be enrolled in a post graduate degree programme (master programme or higher) in Environmental Engineering, Science, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science; or
• Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (bachelor degree or equivalent), in above relevant field; or
• Have recently graduated with a university degree, as defined in the above field and, if selected, the candidate must start the internship within one year of graduation.

Experience:

• Demonstrated experience in communication.
• Knowledge of multilateral organizations would be an asset.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to multi-tasking.
• Excellent knowledge of MS Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) required.
• Familiarity with mobile data collection systems, web-based remote sensing services and mobile payments is an asset.

Conditions of Internship:

• Interns may be given a stipend in accordance with the UNDP Internship Policies, if the intern is not financially supported by any institution or programme, such as a university, government, foundation or scholarship programme; a stipend is intended to compensate for the cost of living at the duty station.
• Interns are responsible for securing adequate medical insurance for the duration of the internship. UNDP accepts no responsibility for costs arising from accidents and/or illness or death incurred during the internship.
• To travel to the duty station, the intern is responsible for obtaining necessary visas and arranging travel to and from the duty station where the internship will be performed.
• Interns are not eligible to apply for, or be appointed to, any post in UNDP during the period of the internship.
• Interns are not staff members and may not represent UNDP in any official capacity.
• The purpose of the Internship Programme is not to lead to further employment with UNDP but to complement an intern's studies. Therefore, there should be no expectation of employment at the end of an internship.
• The intern will be evaluated at the end of the contract and due recognition of work will be issued in writing.
• For more information about the application process and UNDP's internship terms and conditions, visit: www.undp.org/internships.

Application Procedure:

Applicants should send a cover letter and CV through the online portal. Please note that only one document can be uploaded, therefore, please scan the cover letter and CV all into one document.

In case an applicant is successfully selected, s/he will be requested to provide electronic versions of the following documents:

• Letter from university confirming current enrolment and graduation date;
• Letter of recommendation from a professor;
• Copy of most recent school transcript;
• Copy of national passport;
• Completed UNDP internship application form (to be provided upon selection);
• Signed UNDP Internship Agreement (to be provided upon selection);
• Medical Certificate of Good Health (to be provided upon selection);
• Proof of valid medical insurance coverage for the duration of the internship assignment in Switzerland (to be provided upon selection).

Only applicants selected for an interview will be contacted.

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